The Sofa & the Chair

This sofa and chair were in a glass case at the local antique store. I looked at them and thought something was wrong with them. I then looked at the price of $4. USD and was sure something was wrong with them but couldn't figure it out so I bought them as pictured below (except for the wood added to the bottom of the sofa). I really like the size, style, coloring and the pattern. I got them home and finally noticed the chair had no back cushion and the sofa had no seat cushion. I also noticed the sofa was sitting much lower than the chair. The sofa legs had been shortened (probably broken off) so I painted four balsa wood supports and used wood glue to secure them on the underside so it sat at the same height as the chair. I knew I had two little pillows that would work for the chair but what to do with the sofa... HHHhhhmmm... I found one of mom's Estee Lauder bags that was the right color and proceeded to make one big cushion. I got it on the sofa and it sure didn't look right or good at all. Ah ha, I needed to make three cushions. So on the third try I was satisfied and the results are below.

Then I pretended I was an interior designer and set up a couple shots for all you nice folks. This is my first time using a designer mind set in my Doll House. My work is displayed below.

This last photo is my favorite. The new sofa and chair look like they fit in nicely with the vintage Lundby furniture and the brass giraffe. I was pleased.

If anybody can identify this chair and sofa I would appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me. There are no markings on either piece. The dealer who sold these items had no information either. I sincerely hope you enjoy this blog post as it is my first one without any little peeps around. I wonder where they all are.

Credits: Lundby items are the lamp, end table, coffee table, sideboard, white flower pot and rug. The daffodils are vintage and acquired at an auction. The solid brass giraffe was found some time ago at an antique store. The two elephants are old ivory earrings that I took the hook out of.

Thank you for the Awards

Hubby doing the dishes is a Pyrex ad from the 1940's given to me by Rebecca. This reminds me of our first at home date. Future hubby brought veal, garlic, potatos and onions to my house. He cooked up a fantasic meal and then insisted he cleaned up. Oh the good ole days...

I received some Awards for brightening others day. That just makes my day even brighter. The photo above was given to me by Rebecca at http://rebeccascollections.blogspot.com/. She has a delightful, informative, upbeat blog that I enjoy so much. I have never received an award before so I will ponder on how to pass it along. I have only been blogging for about 70 days and am having a great time sharing. I didn't realize the true benefit would be the contact with others who share the same passion as I do. For that I am most grateful. Award also received from: Flo at http://my-vintage-dollhouses.blogspot.com/ and Carol at http://myrealitty.blogspot.com/. If you don't know of these blogs take a minute to browse. Thank you all so very much.

Favorite Things

A New Favorite Thing!

Martin says "Oh Mary, you've here. I've been waiting for you. I have a gift for you that I'd like you to open. Mary says "Well Martin... What on earth did you get me?"
Martin says "Go ahead and open it but be careful."

Mary shrieks with joy and says "Oh Martin, it's one of those special Swedish horses. Please tell me all about it."


Mary places the horse on the mantle and Martin begins to tell Mary what is is. "It is a Dalecarlian horse or Dala horse (Swedish: Dalahäst). It is a traditional wooden statuette of a horse originating in the Swedish province of Dalarna. In the old days the Dala horse was mostly used as a toy for children; in modern times it has become a symbol of Darlarna as well as Sweden in general. I thought because we live in a Swedish house that maybe this Dala Horse would bring us good luck."

Mary exclaims "Oh Martin, I just love it. It looks hand carved and hand painted with great details and oh so special. Let's take some photos of it so others can see. I bet Marta and Erik know all about these."

A Closer Look
(Hubby calles it a Kloppen Ploppen. He's so silly!)

Credits: Viking Treasures Store, Long Grove, IL. A Norweigan and a Swedish flag fly outside the door of the treasure trove of gifts shop in a sleepy tourist town in Northern Illinois. Hubby and I had to travel north to pick something up and we stopped at this store. I spotted the Dalahast on a key chain for a reasonable price but it was way too big and mass produced. Then I spotted the tiny Dalahasts in the case that were all one of a kind. The store clerk told us they were all hand carved and hand painted from wood. I would have settled for the key chain as it still would have been usable but Wonderful Hubby bought me this most precious Swedish Horse. I wasn't expecting that and gave him a Big Smooch right in the store while the clerk wrapped up my tiny treasure which is now one of my very Favorite Things.

Vintage Doll House Items

Vintage Doll House Items for bargain prices.

SCORE...

I stop occassionally at the antique store I used to sell at. When I started selling there was only one other area that sold doll house miniatures. I've since stopped selling in that store because now there are half a dozen areas with doll house miniatures. I was upset at first because my competition had much lower prices. Now I'm happy because the deals are incredible if you look for them. I got all items in the photo below for $1.oo USD. Yeppers... One lousy dollar. I would have paid that for just the pizza cutter. The butter dish is metal and quite old. The Vinegar set has pouring lips and handles. The two green items are little bells. The cheese cutter is so small that it is secured to a piece of thin, clear plastic along with the tiny slice of cheese. I peeled the price tag off the little bag and included it in the photo. All items are perfect for 1:16 Lundby size.The same dealer had another little bag for $1.50 USD.

What!

I've seen the sets of blue splatter ware many times but had never seen the red set. This set includes 6 Lundby size plates and 6 cute little bowls. They are made of metal, sturdy and a great vintage find.

RESULTS

So I tried most of the items out and here is the result. The pizza cutter fits into Martin's hand with no sticky stuff at all. The colored mint candies fit nicely into on the bowls.

Oh yummy...

Credits: The pizza is actual Lundby and was received in an advent calendar a couple years ago. The tiny silverware is from "Mini Collectibles" and is plastic. I keep them in tiny sealed containers in an attempt to keep the set together. The red table is vintage wood. The red striped porch swing was found on the same trip to the antique store. It does not have a canopy and may or may not be Lundby.

The Boy Toy Museum

Vinnie takes his boys to the "Boy Toy Museum" for the day. There were lots of things to climb on and plenty of rides to go on. Antony and Evil try to climb up on the Terra-Rex-Cylopozoid mimicking big brother Nickie. Antony finds the rocket launcher and drives along and imagines shooting Dinosaurs of all kinds.

Bam... Pow...
Evil baby goes for a ride on the Terra-Rex-Cylopoziod.

Evil presses one button and smoke rises. Evil turns a little wheel and the forward guns swivel. Evil presses down on a pedal and the rear tail rises. Evil sure is having fun.

Nickie finds the Cannon and has a blast shooting aliens down.
Ka-Pow / Ka-Boom...

The group gathers in the Transformer/Activity room and the play continues. Nickie is programming a robot. Antony is helping space man get ready for launch. Evil is having a battle with an ugly green monster.
Well... Time to go home now. A good time was had by all.


Credits: It appears the Boy Toy Museum lost it's cleaning crew. These toys were acquired at an auction last summer. I picked through the box and salvaged the good stuff. Many items were Hasbro or Tomy from the late 1980's and all plastic. I found a couple cool small items appropriate for my doll houses. The rest of the items will be dusted and then donated.

The Gotland is SOLD

The Gotland has been SOLD.

Mary doesn't know this yet.

Martin, Erik and Vinnie have been at the Gotland all day. Each husband has left their wife a present. Vinnie moved the lawn and cleaned. Erik grocery shopped and stocked the refrigerator. Martin lovinly cooked a wide selection of foods and treats for the ladies. Martin is leaving the Gotland now and the ladies are to arrive soon."Oh My" exclaim the girls. Each one received soft, new pajamas. They all go and put them on. They wonder why their husbands have set all this up but they don't really care because girls just wanna have fun. They aren't expected home till the afternoon tomorrow some time.

So they decide to have a Pajama Party.

Mary tells that she thinks the Gotland will be sold soon because she left the final decision to Martin. The girls don't really care because they are so happy in their new PJ's with the smell of great food wafting through the cottage and the chance to just be girls.

A Pillow FIGHT happens next.

The girls are tossing pillows, giggling, giddie and really getting to know each other.

Gang pile on Marta.

The laughter can be heard across the hills and valleys from Lundby Lane.

The ladies ate and drank about everything. They devoured the home made fudge and oatmeal cookies. They burned lots of wood and pine cones all night. They watched a great movie. They also rearranged the furniture several times and just had a good ole fashioned night.

Lights out now...
The ladies are resting peacefully.


The Gotland is Officially Sold.

During the day the Coffee Shop was a buzz. Bill the attorney drew up the paperwork as Martin had made a final decision on the Gotland Summer Cottage. All parties in the photo below are now part owners. Yes, a Time Share. Martin knew how much Mary loved the cottage. Vinnie wanted to find a nice little get away for Anne Marie. Erik was sure his family would love to vacation at the cottage. Bill the attorney thought it was a good investment. Mr. Flagg wanted a share so he and his twin brother could play in the woods. The Trolls, now about the Trolls! The Trolls had great credit and cash. They were also made to sign a special contract stating they would not build a bridge to hide under and scare people.


The contracts are all signed. The ladies will find out tomorrow what happened to the Gotland ownership and they will all be delighted. The men are all very pleased. Martin can now fill up Mary's wagon of money again. Yeah!!!


Credits: The new Pajamas were just a tad big wide for the dolls and each was made to fit better using a safety pin in the rear. I found them at Big Lots in the scrapbook section. The little box says they are great for crafting, decorating or just collecting. What about Doll Clothes? They didn't mention that! We paid $1.25 USD for each of the three I found. They are 3.5" wide x 4" tall. I liked them and they really worked out.

New Car Shopping at the Toy Store

Mary and Martin go car shopping at the Toy Store.This one seems so plastic.

This one has a funny thing on the front end.

Martin turns to Mary and says "We'll wait till we find a nice wooden car for us." Mary agrees.
Credits: Allison Wonderland Toy Store in Lake Geneva, WISC - Thanks Chris!!!

The Dolls go to The Toy Store - Allison Wonderland, Lake Geneva, Wisc

Thanks to the store owner of Allison Wonderland's Toy Store in Lake Geneva, Wisc for allowing me to bring Mary and Martin into the store to shop. They browsed everything. They liked the horse stables, the bridge, the Play Mobile items and the fantasy items. Mary especially liked the puppies. Thanks Chris!!! We had a really great time in your store.

Gambling Dolls

Credits: The Las Vegas Gambling table is an antique plastic ashtray (Pre 1963) with a decorated metal insert. What a hoot! Found for a reasonable price in an antique store. Once hubby showed it to me I had to go to the car to get my dolls to see if it would work. Wala... Gambling Dolls!!! Looks like the dolls won. The small dice were a set purchased at Hobby Lobby. The tiny red and black chips are made of thick paper and came with a small checker set.

Thanks to Oese for the Lundby Box idea. She has a really great Blog at http://raumfuerraum.blogspot.com/

Vintage Doll House Items

What is it Martin? Where did you get it? It's so big... How did you get it here? It's so old... Will it keep us warm? Does it work? Can we paint it? Where are we going to put it? Why did you bring this home? What's it all about Martin?

Credits: We scored! Hubby found this at an antique store in Southern Wisconsin. Cost was very reasonable. It was mixed in with some plastic doll house items. It is stamped "Made in Germany - US Zone" so hubby thinks from the late 1940's. It is so well built with tounge and groove joints that are just incredible. In original condition with no paint loss anywhere. It is an old Bodo Hennig German stove. It's pretty big for 1:16 scale Lundby so not sure where it belongs but it sure is a beaut and I wanted to share. Also need to share that we are not just wealthy people who shop all the time. We have had special circumstances recently with mom passing that allowed us to get away for a few days to start the healing process and we hit so many antique stores to find just a few special items. We will miss mom terribly but now she is in our doll houses and will be with us and remembered always.

If anybody has any further information on this Vintage Stove I would appreciate it if you could share. Value, age, etc...

Out for a Walk

The polar bear is out for a walk.

Erik is out for a walk.

The polar bear continues to walk.
Erik now runs.

Mary Goes Shopping Again

Well now that Mary has gone shopping again. Martin has been reviewing the bids for the sale of the Gotland Model and Mary has been all over town filling up her wagons with new little treasures. Mary sure has noticed how tall the grass has gotten since Martin fertlized it. Martin is due to meet Mary at the Gotland to see all the new items she's acquired. She found an old oak toy chest, some kids toys, a new chair, a heart shaped hanger, a new little church, a pair of fancy red lamps, a small foot stool and a sofa table she just had to have. She also spent some time in the woods collecting pine cones to toss in the fireplace.

Over here is one of her red lamp, two baskets of strawberries, some Crisco, some seasonings and a nice litle display rack for the coffee shop or the new mall. She also found a sturdy wide legged table and a backgammon board. She also bought a couple of new rugs. She is sure Martin will be pleased.

Look at what she found for the Evil Baby.

Martin calls to Mary through the over grown grass,

"I hope you bought a lawn mover."

Mary just chuckles. Mary also bought this awesome brass giraffe statue. She thought it would look good for the new mini mall that Martin is working on.

Credits: New items acquired from a few trips to antique malls. The further out in the country we go the better deals we get. The new rugs are Lundby. The tall grass is from the local floral shop. They had them in the back cooler and I just had to get them. I wasn't sure why but now I know. Gots to find my little peeps a lawn mover now.